Telling Martha
by A-Cola-Product
Summary: After learning of the Doctor's apparent demise, the Torchwood team inform the other "Children of Time." Set after the Impossible Astronaut and Miracle Day
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: A companion story to "Coffee, Ms. Cooper?" but it can be read without.**

There'd been a number of arguments over who was telling who. Rex tried to stay out of it, but Gwen and Jack dragged him into it anyways. Rex suggested they tell all of them together, but that idea was lost amidst the arguing. In the end, they'd flipped for it.

* * *

><p>Jack gritted his teeth as he knocked on Martha's front door.<p>

Her face lit up when she opened the door. "Jack!" she hugged him. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking in on you. How are you?"

"Fine. Come on in!" she opened the door wider and Jack followed her inside.

"You didn't do too bad for a freelancer," he said, glancing around the spacious house.

"Oh, don't get started on freelance," Mickey grumbled, limping down the stairs leaning heavily on a cane.

"What happened to you?"

"It's an epic tale. Just don't let Martha tell it."

"Why not?"

"Because _I _don't fabricate the details," Martha said, folding her arms.

Jack smiled at the couple.

"I could put on some tea, if you like," Martha said.

"Sure. Mickey can tell me his made-up tale—"

"It's not made up!" Mickey insisted.

Jack rolled his eyes, "Mickey can tell me his not-quite-fictional story while you make some tea and then we can get to business."

"Business?" Martha raised her eyebrows.

Jack forced a smile. "Business. Just, put the kettle on, Dr. Jones. Or is it Smith? What did you decide on in the end?"

"Smith-Jones," Martha clarified.

Jack and Mickey sat on the sofa while Martha hurried around in the kitchen behind them.

"So... your injury?" Jack prompted.

"We were on the run during Miracle Day," Mickey said.

"From UNIT," Martha said. "They were mad that I'd left. And when the world suddenly stopped dying, they looked for people who might have access to alien technology. Mickey and I were pretty high on their list of suspects."

"I thought you were going to let _me_ tell the story," Mickey said.

"Sorry."

"Couldn't you just explain to them that you weren't involved?" Jack asked. "They can't be worse than Torchwood about something like that. Even if one of our members left, I'd at least hear them out."

"We started running when they showed up. I thought they were after us for a different reason," Mickey said. "A few months beforehand we were forced to kill a Slyveen. There were civilian casualties, a couple demolished buildings. The whole thing was a mess. UNIT was already mad enough at us; we were worried this was the last straw. And incarceration by UNIT has never been at the top of my priorities. Brigadier wasn't there to vouch for us as companions..."

"UNIT hasn't been the same since he left," Jack muttered.

"We had to run," Martha said. "There was an_ insane_ amount of running going on. It was like being back with the Doctor. Except for the shooting. I honestly don't remember being shot at as much."

Jack snorted.

"That's when I got use out of the Miracle," Mickey said.

Jack swore. "You were shot by _UNIT_?"

He nodded. "Martha and I were in the middle of an _amazing_ car chase. They shot out our tires. We ran out of the car and into an airport, full of civilians, thinking they wouldn't try to shoot us in there."

"Unfortunately, my dear husband seemed to rule out airport security," Martha said, a tone of annoyance in her voice.

"My story," Mickey said. "Go make your tea."

Martha rolled her eyes.

"Yeah... airport security held us up. As we were being led out, we broke free and started running. I was shot twice. One in my leg, and one in my shoulder."

Jack swore again, staring at Mickey.

"Martha manged to get me to safety and we were on the run again. When the categories started..."

"We had a real reason to be running," Martha said. "UNIT seemed to realize that burning people alive was wrong, and it put its foot down then and there. It was almost disbanded entirely for insubordination. At that point, they accepted us back with open arms. They fixed Mickey up; he was in bad shape. I'd been doing what I could, but it wasn't very much without the proper equipment."

"Martha blew ovens to the sky while I was recuperating," Mickey said proudly.

"Atta girl!" Jack grinned.

Martha blushed. "It wasn't that big of a deal. Lots of us were. Most of the old companions were doing the exact same thing."

"Anyways, the Miracle came to end," Mickey said. "And by then I was healed enough to not be in any danger. Although just after it ended, someone attacked us again. I _still_ don't know who. Re-opened the wound in my leg."

"Probably the Three Families. Although, that's strange considering you weren't that involved in stopping."

"Whoever it was, it's like I'm a walking target."

Jack chuckled. "You can't say that to _me_ of all people."

"I was shot three times in less than a year."

"A couple dozen times in a night."

"What were you _doing_?" Martha stared.

"Well—"

"Don't answer that," Martha said quickly.

Jack rolled his eyes, "So, how's the money coming as freelancers? You wouldn't be needed a job would you? We still have an opening for a doctor, and I'm sure we could make room for Mickey. We don't have a technological expert. Just me, Gwen, and Rex: three trigger-happy Torchwood members. If you have any love for this planet, you'd sign up to balance us out."

Martha set the tea kettle down and handed Jack a cup.

"Alright, Captain. The truth."

"What?"

"You don't just 'check in' us on us. Why are you here?"

Jack put the cup on the coffee table, frowning at them. Mickey and Martha had matching stubborn expressions. He sighed. "Gwen's had a Code 13."

"_Gwen?_" Martha straightened.

"What's a Code 13?" Mickey asked.

"She's had an encounter from above," Jack said meaningfully.

"Oh," Mickey said.

"I don't know how to put this..."

"Did he take her with him?" Martha asked, her eyes widening.

"No! No, she's fine. She'd never leave Rhys and Anwen."

"So what's wrong?"

"The Doctor talked to Gwen because he knew she wouldn't try to stop him, unlike us."

"Stop him from doing what?" Mickey asked. "Is he alright?"

Jack fought off the urge to run away. He and the Doctor had that in common. When in doubt, run off. Jack gritted his teeth and told them, "… He's dead."

"What?" they asked simultaneously.

"He's gone. Not regenerated. He's dead."

"No. That can't be right," Martha said. "There's no way."

"I'm sorry," Jack said.

Martha shook her head. Mickey took her hand in his. "Are you sure, Jack?"

Jack nodded. "I did a bit of poking around over the past month. Everything matches up."

Martha nodded stiffly.

"It happened earlier this year. In Utah," Jack slammed his fist on the table. "We were _right_ there during it. Just a day or two away."

Martha's expression remained confused. "How did—"

"I don't know. I really don't. But I'd sure like to get my hands on whoever did."

"If you do find out, let us know. We'll help," Martha said.

"Did you find the body?"

"I didn't look," Jack said.

Martha nodded. "I understand. Thank you for telling us."

"You had the right to know," Jack shrugged. "And I had to. The entire world rests on our shoulders. Gwen and Rex have gone to tell Sarah Jane and her group... I'd better go. Thanks for the tea."

He stood and left. As he reached the street, he glanced through the window. Martha's head was bowed and Mickey had a hand on her shoulder. Tears trailed down her cheeks.

Jack closed his eyes, wishing more than ever that a blue box would come screeching into view around the next corner.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: For SJA, I would assume this takes place sometime between Series 4 and 5. I haven't watched anything with Sky in it, so I avoided putting her in for fear of messing up her character.**

"So, who's this Sarah character?" Rex asked.

"Sarah Jane Smith," Gwen said. "She's an old friend of the Doctor's, used to travel with him. But now, she saves the world with a trio of kids from her attic."

"An attic?"

Gwen nodded. She stood in front of the door, glancing at Rex.

"Are you intimidated by a little old lady?" he asked.

"Shut up," Gwen growled, ringing the doorbell.

A dark-haired girl answered, "Can I help you?"

"You must be Rani," Gwen smiled, glad she'd done her research. "Is Sarah Jane Smith here?"

"Yeah. How do you know us?"

"I'm Gwen Cooper," Gwen said. "This is Rex. We're with Torchwood."

"Torchwood?" a boy appeared over her shoulder. "Even better than UNIT."

"Not better than UNIT. Not by a_ long_ shot," Sarah Jane scolded, coming in from behind the two. "Gwen. Good to see you again."

"Hello, Sarah Jane," Gwen had only met Sarah Jane once, briefly, and she wasn't entirely sure that counted.

"What can I do for you?" Sarah Jane asked. "Within reason, of course. As long as it doesn't involve Clyde picking up a gun, I'm sure we help."

"Hey!" the boy scowled.

"Actually, it's about the Doctor," Gwen said.

"Oh... Well then, come on in," Sarah Jane opened the door. "Clyde, will you grab a couple chairs?"

Gwen and Rex followed the trio up the stairs to her world-saving attic.

Clyde pulled out some chairs for Red and Gwen; Sarah Jane sat on edge of a work table. Rani and Clyde made themselves at home on the floor.

"So, what's he been up to now?"

Gwen fell silent for a moment. "I met him a couple times; just me."

"Really?"

"The first time, he bought me a cup of coffee, proclaimed that I was going to have a really hard go at life, but that I'd be okay. The second time was after— after it was just me left."

"How long ago was that?" Sarah Jane asked.

"2010; sometime in January. I can't quite remember."

"Was the rest of your team destroyed when the kids started all that chanting?" Clyde asked.

"Clyde," Sarah Jane reprimanded.

"It's fine," Gwen said. "Yeah, I lost one of the two other members on my team, and our base completely destroyed in the 456 incident."

"So that's what it was called," Rani said. "We never found out what was causing it."

"Luke did the... thing," Clyde's expression darkened. "It scared all of us. What was it? We had Mr. Smith hack UNIT, but nothing came up."

"It was aliens, of course," Gwen said. "I was there in the thick of it. They were using children..." she broke off, glancing at the teenagers.

"What?" Rani asked.

She glanced at Sarah Jane, who nodded. "They can handle it."

"They were using children as drugs."

Rani's expression turned to one of disgust. "That's horrible!"

"They kept them alive, in a permanent state of childhood," Gwen said. "They were like... vegetables."

Rani's eyes watered. "How could they do that?"

Sarah Jane frowned. "There are plenty of horrible aliens out there. The 456, it's strange, I've never heard of them before. Of course, I haven't heard of every alien. Mr. Smith? Have you been listening?"

"Yes, Sarah Jane," the super computer said.

"What do you make of the '456'?"

"They are known to planet Earth only as 'the 456.'"

"Do you have any other information?"

"I'm afraid not."

Sarah Jane nodded.

"What were you doing during the Miracle?" Rex asked, wanting to hear about something he was actually involved in.

"What do you _think_ we were doing?" Rani asked, crossing her arms.

"Running around blowing up the modules?" Gwen guessed with a smile.

"I got a few old friends together," Sarah Jane smirked. "I wouldn't let Rani or Clyde go, though. They were here, hiding a few people in the attic."

"How'd you manage that?" Rex asked, impressed that a simple woman and her school kids could succeed where Gwen Cooper, Torchwood extraordinare, had failed.

"Luke built a perception filter," Clyde said proudly. "No one ever checked upstairs, to them it wasn't even there. It was brilliant."

"Well, if, in a few years, Luke needs a job..." Gwen said.

"No," Sarah Jane said stubbornly.

"Didn't think so," Gwen chuckled.

"So, tell me about your visits with the Doctor," Sarah Jane said.

"Well, the first two were more social calls. The third time was just a few weeks ago... he wanted me to tell everyone else; he told me... he said he was going to die."

Sarah Jane stared.

"What do you mean die? Regenerate?" Clyde asked. "He's done that before, loads of times."

Gwen shook her head. "That's what I thought, but he said no. He's gone. Jack looked into it, and everything matches up with his story."

"Why you?" Sarah Jane asked, folding her arms. "Why not Jack, or me, or Martha? Or any of the old crew? Why _you_?"

"'Cause I wouldn't stop him. If he'd told you, you wouldn't have let him go, would you?"

Sarah Jane opened her mouth, then closed it. "No."

"We all thought you should know. With him gone, there'll be more for us to do. Who knows how many things we have to stop now. And we can't let ourselves die out. We've got to keep on—" her voice broke, "Keep on fighting."

Sarah Jane struggled to accept it, her eyes darted to her two young friends. Rani's eyes watered with tears and Clyde seemed to be in a state of shock.

"I'm sorry," Gwen said.

"Who _was_ he?" Rex asked. "I don't get it. This guy, the Doctor, who was he to you all? Some kind of hero?"

"He was... a friend to Earth. No matter how big the trouble was, he was almost always there. And even when he wasn't, it was his 'Children of Time' that made things better. You're one of them now, Rex," Sarah Jane said. "Join up with a past companion, you become part of the family."

"Past companion?"

"He takes people to travel through time and space," Sarah Jane said. "His only family in the world, and it's bigger than any other. I was one of them, when I was younger. Jack was as well."

"Time travel?"

"You sound just like me," Gwen snorted. "Yes, time travel is more than possible. I've done it, once."

"He took you with him?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Yeah," Gwen nodded. "Yeah, he did. Got to say goodbye to my team."

"He must've really liked you," Sarah Jane muttered.

Gwen shrugged. "We'd better go... World-saving to do and all."

Sarah Jane nodded, still in denial. Clyde put a comforting arm around Rani as tears made their way down her face.

Gwen sighed as she walked down the stairs.

"Child of Time?" Rex blinked.

"Yeah," Gwen nodded. "It's a pretty stupid name, huh?"

"You okay?" he asked.

Gwen shook her head, glancing back up at the house. "Sarah Jane is one of the Doctor's oldest friends. He's one of hers. They're practically equals, in some sense. She has her kids, he has his companions. It won't be easy for her to continue on."

"But she will, won't she? I mean, he's just a man."

"He's not just a man. He's a symbol to us that we're never alone. And if he's dead, then we're virtually defenseless. We'll have to continue on his work ourselves. In all its history, this is the first time planet Earth has ever really, truly been alone."


End file.
